


the sounds of the world are like echoes in a cave

by faenova, McSquiggles



Category: Dororo (Anime)
Genre: Auras, Gen, Minor Character Death, Overstimulation, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 02:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faenova/pseuds/faenova, https://archiveofourown.org/users/McSquiggles/pseuds/McSquiggles
Summary: Hyakkimaru has no frame of reference for sound. The first few minutes of hearing are hell.





	the sounds of the world are like echoes in a cave

**Author's Note:**

> We started writing this immediately after the end of episode 4, because we've adopted Hyakkimaru and can't stop thinking about how he functions and most importantly--how he communicates.
> 
> Heavy headcanons here about him using homesigns that he developed with Jukai since there was no other way for them to talk to each other.

He doesn’t understand what’s happening.

Being unable to talk to anyone hasn’t bothered Hyakkimaru before. He’d prepared himself for this when he left his dad behind.

But now… everything is so much and he can't ask anyone what it _is_. He knows he regained something alongside the ears that replaced his prosthetic ones, but he didn’t even know it was missing until he got it back.

It started with a slight sensation, different from the familiar pressure of him making contact with anything. This time the sensation is coming from inside his head. It’s new and strange and it quickly seems to become somehow _more,_ making it harder for him to understand.

It’s overwhelming. It’s different. It’s _so much more_ than he thought possible and he doesn’t know what it is or what it’s called. He doesn’t understand it, which isn’t helping in the least.

The sensation seems to fill his whole head before it begins to turn distinct. Different varieties, different types of the sensation. They fill his head and he can’t stop his hands from reaching up and holding his head. No, not holding. He covers his ears and the new sensation seems to lessen slightly. _But it isn’t enough_. Five hundred sensations come crashing into his head at once--one seeming to shift and become worse before calming down and then crashing back up again, like an awful loop that plays in time with the grief from the soul behind him.

This isn’t like pain. Hyakkimaru could almost immediately identify pain when it was restored. His dad had tried to explain it many times before, and Hyakkimaru could at least grasp the concept that it was to stop you from hurting yourself. He understands _hurt_ perfectly--emotions hurt. Now he has physical hurt. Strange, hard to get used to, but something he mentally prepared for even if he didn’t know exactly how it would be.

But this? For a second a feeling of regret flashes inside of him. He had reclaimed a new part of himself, yes, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing at this point. He presses his hands harder against his head, but the sensation continues. In fact, it becomes more. He flinches as it continued to grow. Only then does Hyakkimaru realize that one of the sensations is coming from the child that’s followed him, because it abruptly stops as the little soul stops in their tracks.

Whatever it is, at least some of it is coming from the child. They do it again, more against the constant barrage and he flinches again, shaking his head to try and prevent it from attacking his new body parts. He only notices how close the child is to him when there’s more pressure against his new ears, with the child’s hands covering his own prosthetics and a wave of comfort flowing to him.

Hyakkimaru desperately latches onto the touch, reaching out for the child. He knows they can’t understand him, but it doesn’t stop his hands from forming shaky words, begging the little soul to answer him. He grabs the child by their forearm and flicks his wrist back and forth to ask “What is this?” The child tries to pull their hand away, but Hyakkimaru grips tight and repeats the motion. “What?” He lets go and points to the side of his head.

He gets no response. Of course he doesn’t. He didn’t expect one. But he would give anything to be able to talk to someone right now, for anyone to explain what this is. The child doesn’t even try to touch him back, but they do create more of the strange sensation again. There’s so much more of it, it slams against his head and Hyakkimaru nearly hits the child with how fast he tries to tell them “ _Stop!_ ” by striking the edge of his palm against the other’s hand.

The soul retreats from his immediate senses in an instant and Hyakkimaru recoils from the absence. Fear rolls off the child for just a moment, before they settle down again to confusion. His hands return to the sides of his head. _Stop, please_ , he begs silently.

He’s never wanted his dad more than he has in this moment.

The child seems frozen for a few minutes, and they don’t try to make any more of the sensation again. Hyakkimaru feels slight relief at at least one thing being removed from the pile. The relief is small but it’s a welcomed emotion next to mess going on inside his head.

He sees the soul moving again, slower this time and with more hesitation, but Hyakkimaru can’t help but tense at the sudden movement. He braces himself, waiting for the sensation to come back. Instead he sees the soul pulling something towards him and a small hand gently moves Hyakkimaru’s hand away. He resists for a moment, until he feels the slightly damp fabric against his ears. It doesn’t take long for it to go from damp to completely soaked by the rain, but as the fabric is secured around his head he realizes how much calmer everything seems to be.

The sensations have dimmed. Not enough to make them go away completely, but enough to make them easier to bear. Hyakkimaru pats his new ears covered in fabric. It still creates more of the sensation, but… softer. He pats them again, just to make sure. Not so bad. He almost moves his hands to tell the child he appreciates it, but they’re gone. Hyakkimaru reaches out with his aura for human souls--ah, there they are. They’re standing with the one who tried to stop him from killing the one who held the demon sword.

He watches the child for a second, watches as their soul fluctuates between regret-guilt-relief as they stand next to the other soul, still consumed by grief. Hyakkimaru can vaguely feel the most painful of the new sensations slowly disappearing. Even with it being suppressed by the fabric he’s thankful it’s stopped completely. Out of all the new sensations, that specific one hurt the most. Not only in his head, but something about it made his chest tighten uncomfortably, paired with the grief. It was a familiar sensation, but it wasn’t one he wanted enhanced on top of everything else.

Hyakkimaru shakes his head, pushing the thoughts away before he makes his way to the child. The two souls seem to notice him, one of which seems to tense but the child doesn’t hesitate to reach a hand out to him. Hyakkimaru holds it for a second, giving it a light squeeze before he reaches over to touch the child’s face, brushing the back of his fingers against their face. “Thank you.” The child stills under his touch as he repeats the motion a few times, trying his best to convey the message through his aura. “Thank you, thank you.” The shaking from earlier hasn’t gone completely away, but with the new sensation repressed and the worst of it gone, it’s easier to get a better grip on himself. The soul is confused, with an underlying happiness. Eventually they raise their hands to wrap around his prosthetics, coaxing him to feel the movement on their face.

A smile. A good sign. Seems the soul understands his signing so he repeats the motion again, “Thank you,” confirming and solidifying his gratitude and affection before finally letting go. The little soul lets go of his hands before touching their own face where he signed on their cheeks, rubbing it a few times. Hyakkimaru doesn’t have time to reach over again before the child seems to remember the other soul and turns their attention back to it.

Even with the loudest sensation from earlier gone, Hyakkimaru can tell the other soul seems on the brink of doing it again. Their aura seems to tremble, the edges almost seem on the brink of coming undone and Hyakkimaru can tell from it’s positioning it seems to want to protect the one dead on the floor.

And it _is_ dead, it’s aura long disappeared, and he’s sure the demon sword’s inactivity is a good sign of it. Yet the other soul seems to keep close to it, almost as if to push some of its own self into it.

Hyakkimaru wonders if he should tell the soul it’s too late, how it won’t help, but decides against it in the end. It wouldn’t know what he’s saying anyway. He instead reaches over to the child again and grabs their hand. They turn their attention back towards him and he tries his best to tell them they should leave. He’s gentler this time when he tugs the child’s arm forward in the direction they’re headed. “Go.” He repeats the sign a few times. He wonders if they’re finally picking up on the signs or if they just are as willing as he is to leave, but they hesitate for a second to turn back towards the other soul. Hyakkimaru flinches as the sensation it produced earlier appears again. The child turns their back on the soul and its dead companion, and holds Hyakkimaru’s hand tightly. They let Hyakkimaru take the lead, as always.


End file.
